Stockton swept away in Alaska

Monday

Feb 11, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The Stockton Thunder hoped to salvage the finale of its three-game series with the Alaska Aces, but right wing Alexandre Imbeault scored three goals in a row - two on second-period power plays - to lead Alaska to a 3-1 victory and a sweep of Stockton before 3,379 on Sunday at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

The Record

The Stockton Thunder hoped to salvage the finale of its three-game series with the Alaska Aces, but right wing Alexandre Imbeault scored three goals in a row - two on second-period power plays - to lead Alaska to a 3-1 victory and a sweep of Stockton before 3,379 on Sunday at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

The Thunder went ahead 1-0 on defenseman Ryan Constant's goal on a power play 7 minutes, 15 seconds into the second period on assists from Mike Little and Gabriel Levesque.

"That was a nice goal, and it was nice to get the 1-0 lead," Thunder coach Matt Thomas said. "But we got a penalty soon after that and it took the wind out of our sails."

The Aces tied the game 1-1 when Imbeault scored at 9:50 of the second period on assists by Steve Ward and William Wrenn. Imbeault followed up with goal No. 2 at 13:46 with help from Bobby Hughes and Tommy Mele.

Zach Harrison and Mele assisted on Imbeault's final goal at 3:25 of the third period to complete the natural hat trick.

Goaltender Tyler Bunz had a career-high 41 saves for the Thunder, and Alaska's Mark Guggenberger had 21 saves.

"We just need to score, get healthy and we need our key guys back," Thomas said. "We need to get going for sure."

The Thunder, which went winless on a four-game road trip that started with a 4-3 loss against the Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday, hosts the Ontario Reign at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Stockton Arena.

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